If your Netflix streams and Instagram uploads seem a little bit faster on campus, there’s a reason for that.
Since August, Fresno State has been undergoing an Internet network upgrade as part of a California State University systemwide program through the Chancellor’s Office called the Common Network Initiative (CNI).
“This project will refresh and upgrade the network electronics in the campus data centers and wiring closets in all state-funded buildings on the Fresno State campus,” said Jim Michael, executive director of technology services.
The physical infrastructure support will allow better reliability and performance on the campus network and allow the capacity for growth and future upgrades. Students should also notice an increase in bandwidth performance on their wireless systems, such as their phones, tablets and laptops.
“Fresno State students get a free subscription to Lynda online training. Faster Internet would be nice for that,” said Justin Watt, a senior majoring in computer science.
Part of this process requires the CNI team to go to each state-funded building and upgrade the system, one by one, which they have said may create service interruptions for five to 30 minutes, or sometimes even longer. However, Michael said there have been no issues with the process, so far.
“We have worked with key stakeholders in the various buildings to make sure we work around significant activities or events that could be impacted by the upgrade,” Michael said.
This week, technology services will be working on the agricultural areas on the north side of campus, including the animal science building, viticulture rooms and veterinary hospital.
The CNI program will not, however, cover the entire the campus. Areas such as the University Student Union and the Residence Dining Hall have no scheduled upgrades, but Michael said there are supplemental plans in the works to upgrade areas that are not within the framework of the CNI.
“There is a separate project underway to upgrade the wireless network, and the first phase of that work was completed over the summer to ensure wireless network availability and performance for classrooms and public spaces used for the DISCOVERe tablet initiative, including the Henry Madden Library,” Michael said.
The technology services staff is coordinating with third-party AT&T contractors, with some student assistants working within the department helping on the wide-scale project.
As of Friday, Michael said “the team had upgraded approximately 43 percent of the buildings included in the project and 60 percent of the network ports.”
The CNI project is slated to be completed before the upcoming spring semester.
